


The World Ends With You

by myWorks



Category: Naruto
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Drabble Collection, F/M, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Hook-Ups and Break-ups, M/M, Major Character Injury, Mild canon divergence, Original Character(s), Recreational Drinking, Unbeta'd, Vaguely Connected Drabbles, established relationships - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-06-18
Updated: 2014-06-21
Packaged: 2018-02-05 03:52:37
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,669
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1804282
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/myWorks/pseuds/myWorks
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A series of drabbles that follow the 20-something Konoha 11 and friends as they go through their lives after the war.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Change Starts With You

**Author's Note:**

> I should be updating a bunch of other stories, but oh well.

As it often was in the Hyuuga household, dinner was a quiet affair.  Hinata's parents, Hiashi and Hikari sat at the head of the small dining table while Hinata sat across from her sister.  Now that she was here, the words she wanted to say left Hinata completely.  At first it had just been a stupid idea, a hypothetical what-if tossed out in a conversation between Kiba and Naruto.  But from there, it had grown into a maybe.  It wasn't an impossibility, really.  If Hinata really wanted it, there was nothing stopping her from achieving her goal.  She opened her mouth to speak, but Hanabi spoke first.

"I was selected to go on the mission to Kumogakure in two weeks," the younger Hyuuga said in the formal tone that sounded just like her father.  Although she had just turned 18, Hanabi was just beginning to come into her womanly body.  She was a late bloomer, like her dad, and inherited his lankiness as opposed to her mother's more feminine curves.  In Hinata's opinion, it suited her anyway.  Either way, Hanabi was still beautiful.

"That's excellent to hear, Hanabi.  I wish you the best."  Hikari said softly, the smile that always adorned her face spreading wider.  At this, Hanabi visibly brightened before returning to her food.  Hikari then turned her calm gaze towards Hinata.

"Did you have something to say as well, Hinata?"  Hiashi glanced up, as did Hanabi.  Although the family was closer than it ever had been, Hinata still rarely spoke up around her family.  The stare of her father still carried the same heavy weight it did as a child, but it didn't affect Hinata nearly as much.  Maybe it was because she could now see the paternal kindness behind that sharp gaze.  Maybe it was because, at almost 22 years of age, Hinata finally felt comfortable in her skin.  Certainly comfortable enough to state her goals to her family.  She took a deep breath before speaking.

"I've decided to join ANBU."  Hinata wasn't sure what she expected, but the ensuing silence was incredibly uncomfortable.  Both Hiashi's and Hanabi's faces were unreadable, but there was clear apprehension on Hikari's face.  Finally Hiashi nodded his head.  And like that, Hinata had her father's blessing.  It was an odd feeling, to finally have that off her chest.  Hinata hadn't even told Naruto yet and now she wondered how he would react.

"Why?"  Hanabi asked, much to Hinata's surprise.  The two weren't on bad terms, but they were hardly close.  Hinata paused before answering, rather unsure of what to say.  Finally, the words spilled forth from her mouth.

"I suppose, I just wanted a change."


	2. Shiroyume

It was cold in Konoha, which was rare in of itself and not for the first time, Sakura wondered if Naruto had some deep connection to the village that caused his mood to reflect its weather.  Before the war, she would have thought the idea foolish, but the battle against Madara had substantially raised her threshold for the strange and weird.  She playfully bumped into him and was rewarded with a small smile.

"What's wrong?"  She asked thoughtfully as both his and her smiles fell.  "I thought you'd be excited with Sasuke being allowed back finally."  Naruto shook  his head.

"It's not that.  Trust me, I'm stoked about Sasuke coming back.  I mean, after everything he's..." Naruto paused, unable to find a word to say.  Still, Sakura understood.  Sasuke had messed up, bad.  He had done a lot of bad things.  But even still, he was their Sasuke.  The three of them, Team Kakashi, were a part of each other in a way that was nearly impossible to describe.

"So why the long face?"  The two had found themselves approaching the Academy and decided to sit there.  It was still early in the morning, so odds were that most of the students would still be in school.  Even if the kids did come out to play, they would probably leave the two Jonin alone.  It wasn't exactly uncommon to see adults using the Academy's playground as a place to hang out.  The blond sighed before he answered Sakura's question.

"I guess it's just everything that's going on.  Sasuke coming back, me being a Jonin instructor, this whole thing with Hinata..." Naruto let his sentence trail and moved to shrug, only to feel one shoulder move.  He stared down at the place where his right arm once was and sighed.

"This," he said, motioning to the empty space.  The lost arm wasn't new, but Sakura knew that it was a still a sore point for Naruto.  The injury had nearly ended his ninja career and completely changed Naruto.  The first few months were the most depressed anyone had ever seen Naruto and even several years later, he was still learning to get over the loss of his arm.

"It'll all work out Naruto.  Whenever you're concerned, it always does."  Naruto sighed and for a few seconds, the two simply sat in silence on the swing set.

"So what do you have planned for Sasuke coming back?"  Naruto asked, a mischievous smile gracing his face.  It was nice to see him smile again and Sakura couldn't help but laugh before answering.

"Tsunade gave us this stuff, Shiroyume, that's supposed to be really good.  And we'll probably go out for dinner, just take it slow for a while."  Naruto's smile turned into a knowing grin, which made Sakura somewhat nervous.

"What's with that smile?"  She asked suspiciously.

"I've tried Shiroyume before.  Me, Kiba, Shikamaru, and Chouji had gotten our hands on some.  That stuff had us on our asses before we even got down to half the bottle."  Sakura stared in awe.

"Wow, that strong, huh?"  Naruto nodded with a laugh.

"Yeah, that was a fun night."  The blond answered before launching into the story of how the four of them had gone to Sunagakure and the wild night that ensued as a result of the Shiroyume.


	3. No Worries

Maybe it was the rush of pleasure she felt when he kissed down her neck, only to come back up to her lips.

Maybe it was the fact that her father didn't know, or that no one knew really.  Although according to his friend, apparently their secret trysts weren't so secret.  Regardless, Hanabi loved nights like these, when it was just the two of them underneath the night sky. 

Here, they weren't the honorable grandson of the Third Hokage or the esteemed heiress of the Hyuuga clan.  It was during these moments that they were simply Konohamaru and Hanabi, two kids who were more than their heritage, even if everyone else tended to forget.

Maybe that's why Hanabi enjoyed it so much.  There were no expectations to live up to, no pressure from outside sources.  This thing the two of them had, which they hadn't even named, was easy and fun.  And as kisses turned to more beneath the moonlight inside a tent a few miles out of Konoha, Hanabi swore she never felt more at peace.


	4. "Oh"

Temari couldn't stop the grin from spreading across her face as she watched Naruto and Lee sitting on either side of Gaara and the young Kazekage almost laughing.  It was a rare thing to see, something even Temari herself had only seen a handful of times in her life.  A truly happy smile on her youngest brother's face.

It was strange, seeing the three boys looking almost identical to when their paths had first crossed.  They were taller now, and there were other differences too.  Lee had bulked up significantly since those days, Naruto was missing an arm and Gaara had...Temari blinked skeptically when she noticed Gaara's face.  Lee must have said something because Naruto was doubling over in laughter and Lee, with his eyes closed laughing, didn't see Gaara staring at him as if he'd hung the moon.

"Oh."  Temari said to herself.  She had never seen Gaara look so incredibly at peace before, as if he could have lived in that moment for the rest of his life.  She turned before the smile could completely take over her face.

"What's wrong?"  Kankuro asked, coming up from behind her.  "Bummed it's not Shikamaru here instead?"  Temari's face quickly fell as she turned to glare at her younger brother.  Kankuro winced in response.

"Right.  Too soon.  So what is it?"  The puppeteer inquired.  Temari took a calming breath before leading Kankuro's gaze over to their little brother.  Lee's eyes were open now, so Gaara had stopped staring.  Kankuro gave Temari a quizzical look, but the blonde merely shook her head.  She knew how these things worked and it would only be a matter of time before Gaara would be staring again.

"Oh."  Kankuro said once it happened.  The two had taken Shikamaru's place in coming to Suna for what was supposed to be diplomatic missions, but which often ended in simple playdates for the Kazekage.  Both Naruto and Lee were standing, clearly about to retire for the evening.  Naruto was visibly trying to not finger the spot where there was no longer an arm.  Temari wondered if by now the pain was more psychological than physical.

"See you tomorrow Gaara, sorry I gotta cut it short."  Naruto sighed with a wave. 

"It's alright Naruto, I'll see you tomorrow."  Naruto sighed again before walking past Temari and Kankuro and leaving the Kazekage's office.  Said Suna siblings turned just to see Lee and Gaara exiting from their embrace.

"I will you see you bright and early tomorrow, Gaara.  Have a good evening."  As Lee turned, Gaara's eyes almost melted.  Had it not been his little brother, the Kazekage and one of the most powerful shinobi that Kankuro knew, he would have found the sight pitiful.

"Good evening, Temari and Kankuro."  Lee said respectfully before exiting the office.

"What?"  Gaara asked when he noticed his two older siblings staring intensely at each other.

"Nothing," Temari quipped quickly, probably a bit too quickly.  But Gaara didn't notice.

**Author's Note:**

> Also, if you couldn't tell, Hikari is the name I gave to Hinata and Hanabi's mom.


End file.
